The notion of burn-in for headphones, often touted as an enhancement process, lacks scientific substantiation. Modern headphone technologies, particularly those with dynamic drivers, don’t require extended break-in periods. Claims of improved sound quality through burn-in are subjective and possibly influenced by psychological factors. Empirical evidence contradicts the myth, challenging the widespread belief in this audio phenomenon.

The only purchases I regret are random cheaper ones, like Monoprice Modern Retros, and about half a dozen sub-20$ KZ’s. It adds up to maybe 150$ though, which is the same as taking a hit on a single pair of prosumer bluetooth headphones. Overall, not bad.

I’ve settled in nicely with a 6XX and some s12s as my best headphone and IEM. I’ve got side-grades for different use-cases, but with the kind of deals you can get for speakers these days, for the the same price as some LCD’s or ZMF’s, I’d rather invest in stereo equipment, which I believe has a higher ceiling for fidelity than cans.

More than any other piece of audio gear I’ve owned.

Last year, I ordered some KZ PR1’s, and had second thoughts at the last second, and cancelled the order. They ended up still showing up, and I got a refund.

I upgraded to S12’s this year, no great deal, aside from how they sound.

I tried Tidal for a few months, and didn’t notice enough of a difference from spotify premium, Tidal’s catalog is much smaller, they don’t have many podcasts, and I can’t tell enough of a difference in sound quality.

If I want to go full quality, I have CD’s and FLAC rips, but its so easy to find new music, make playlists, and discover deep cuts and smaller artists with Spotify.

Basically, if I like something enough on Spotify, I’ll look for physical media.

SSDs and M.2’s, they all hold my FLACs nicely.

I can tell between mp3 and FLAC on my nicest studio monitors, but even then, its not a big difference.

So you don’t think the source matters with Mid-fi?

Spotify does the trick and until you’re into a pricy signal chain, with a pair of prime headphones, you won’t see a real advantage from a better (lossless?) source?

I bought some last month, and found that they fit almost perfectly, sound quality-wise, into their price point. Cheaper Salnotes Zero’s are a clear step down, and KZ PR1’s and similar headphones in the 50-100$ range outperform the Simgots, though not by a large margin.

I picked mine up at the same time as some Letshuoer S12’s, which promptly blow the EW200s out of the water, albiet for nearly 3x the price.

I guess at the end of the day, I don’t really have anything negative to say about the EW200s. They represent a mid-budget price point very well, and while they lack compared to more expensive IEMs, I think they’re perfect if you have a tight budget, and want a step up from the Zero’s.

I haven’t heard them for comparison, but the real question is; for about 40$, do you get the Simgots or Truthear x Crinacle: Red’s?

I just grabbed one. Do balanced 2.5mm cables make a difference? I’d like to get the most out of my 6xx, 4xx, and K702’s, and I’m seeing some black friday deals on amazon for cables.

My Letshuoer S12’s are my best IEM right now, but my Tozo T6’s get 10x more use, because they’re convenient, tough, and cheap.

Not everything has to sound the best to work the best for you, in a given situation.

I personally find that after a long day at work listening to spotify through my Tozo’s, I appreciate my 6xx’s through some tubes a lot more.

Chicago FB and craigslist are 95% skullcandy, bose, jbl, soundcore, or gaming headsets.

I found a pair of K712’s for 90$ once, in rough shape, and the guy ghosted me.

I’d pretty much always rather create an open box discount for someone else by ordering headphones new online, trying them, and returning them.

To the Elegia owners out there who still have and enjoy theirs; I’m very jealous.

They have awesome low end, amazing detail across the board, pleasant mids, superb build and feel, but that weird, tinny, treble spike just ruined them for me.

Was it an issue of being priced too cheap to uphold Focal standards, an honest swing and a miss, or are my ears being overly critical?

EQ is having flexibility to change the sound to fit your preferences, and the engineer who mixed and mastered the music you listen to isn’t the only one allowed to impart their own choices on the music.

I gave up telling r/battlestations that their budget JBL 305s shouldn’t be placed on their sides, 12 feet apart, facing straight out.

Posting the ‘listening triangle’ has straight up pissed people off.

I’ve never in my life found a speaker that didn’t have a much better phantom center channel, better treble peaks, and clearer imaging and separation, after toeing in the speakers using equilateral distances between the speakers and the listening position.

How does a pair of headphones with one driver per ear achieve Atmos surround sound?

A pair of these mounted in some simple DIY open baffles. The coaxial OB sound was eye-opening (ear-opening?) when I put together my first pair.

The speakers ‘fill’ the room with your music in such a satisfying and natural way, you forget about them altogether. The build is as easy as you could ask. No crossover, no cabinet volume, porting, polyfilling, or bracing to worry about. If you can build a wood panel that stands up (or hangs suspended), you can build open baffles.

Add 2-4 subwoofers with DSP, and you’ve got an even, equally room-filling low end, which, admittedly, is something open baffles struggle with on their own.

This reminds me of the Focal Elegias going on sale last holiday season. The imaging was great, nice low bass extension, crispy treble, superb build quality and feel, but that metallic timbre made them absolute hot garbage.

There are way more things that can go wrong on a turntable than a solid state digital device.